Absolutism Constitutionalism Chapter 15 Early Key Players The

Absolutism & Constitutionalism Chapter 15

Early Key Players: The Thirty Years’ War (1618 -1648) • The Holy Roman Empire: • Loose confederation of hundreds of principalities united under an elected emperor. 1. Emperor Ferdinand II 2. Protestant Union (1608) 3. Catholic League (1609) • Spanish Habsburgs: • Goal: Protect Catholicism & unity of the HRE.

Phases of the War • Bohemian Phase (1618 -1625): • Ferdinand II rescinds the Peace of Augsburg • Civil war (Catholic League & Protestant Union) • Catholic victory Battle of White Mountain • Danish Phase (1625 -1629): • King Christian IV of Denmark (Protestant) fails • Edict of Restitution (1629) • All Catholic land lost to Protestants since 1552 is restored. • Only Catholicism & Protestantism in HRE Ferdinand II (Holy Roman Emperor)

Phases of the War, cont. … • Swedish Phase (1630 -1635): • King Gustavus Adolphus (Sweden) • France subsidized Swedes (Richelieu) • Protestant victories • French Phase (1635 -1648): Gustavus Adolphus • France declares war on Spain (military & financial) • Battle of Prague: last major battle • Swedes captured Prague Castle from the HRE Cardinal Richelieu

End of the Thirty Years’ War • Peace of Westphalia: series of treaties that concluded the Thirty Years’ War in 1648. • Marked the end of large-scale religious violence in Europe. • Results of the Thirty Years’ War: • Resolved: rights of Calvinists, limited the power of the HRE & papacy, sovereign authority of German princes (300+) • Problems: German economy & society in shambles

The “Modern State” • Accelerated growth of national monarchies • One government, one law, one army • The Divine Right of Kings: • The power to rule transmitted by God, ruler is answerable to God • End to “individualism” Ex: Louis XIV most extreme example, consciously copied by others, “The Sun King!”

Absolutism Comparison: Locke & Hobbes • How did political philosophers differ in how they viewed the role of government? • Using the two primary source documents, identify arguments for and against absolutism.

The Foundations of French absolutism • Henry IV: (r. 1589 -1610) • Edict of Nantes (1598) • Lowed taxes for the peasants & kept France at peace • Increase in trade led to economic prosperity • Murdered in 1610

The Foundations of French absolutism • Cardinal Richelieu (1585 -1642) appointed to the minister of the French crown. (Louis XIII) • Established total subordination of all groups and institutions to the French monarchy • Centralize power

The Absolute Monarchy of Louis XIV • Louis XIV “Divine Right of Kings” • Achieved the cooperation of the nobility. • Complete control over social classes • Projects that promoted the monarchy & prestige of the aristocrats.

The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes • Louis XIV revoked the Edict of Nantes in 1685. • Religious unity a political necessity • Religious liberty had not been popular

Colbert & Mercantilism • Louis XIV named Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619 -1683) as controller of general finances. • “Wealth and the economy should serve the state” • Supported old industries to make France self-sufficient (exports) • Mercantilism: • Economic regulations aimed at increasing the power of the state.

Louis XIV’s Wars • War of Spanish Succession (1701 -1713) • Charles II of Spain dies, and leaves crown to Louis XIV’s grandson, Philip of Anjou • English, Dutch, Austrians, and Prussians form Grand Alliance to stop France from taking Spanish crown. • Peace of Utrecht (1713 -15): • Decline of Spain as a world power • Ended French expansion (Europe) • Marked rise of the British Empire

Absolutism in Spain • Spanish Economy • Drop in trade (1610 -50) • Declines in silver & slave labor • Inflation!!! • Portuguese Independence (1688) • End of Spanish dominance in Europe

Absolutism in Prussia & Austria • Cultural and religious unity throughout Europe Serfdom had declined between 1100 -1300 • Changed by Europe’s population decline in the 14 th century • What social and economic differences existed between eastern and western Europe in the seventeenth century?

Lords and Peasants • Eastern lords sought solutions to economic hardships labor shortages • Removed freedom of movement (runaways must be returned) • Imposed heavier labor obligations (often without pay) • Hereditary Subjugation: peasants were bound to their lords from one generation to the next.

Struggle for national power • Weak monarchs & strong nobility before 1600 prevented the rise of strong kings in Eastern Europe. • Begin to emerge during 17 th century • Steps to monopolizing political power: 1. Permanent taxes without consent 2. Permanent standing armies 3. Conducted relations with other states as they pleased

Austria • Thirty Years War left Habsburgs weak & impoverished • Focus shift: imperial dominance unify diverse holdings • Habsburgs take control of the Bohemian Estates during Thirty Years’ War. • Worsened conditions for serfs • Stamped out Protestantism Ferdinand III

Prussia • Hohenzollern family (15 th-16 th century) • Ruled parts of eastern Germany • Imperial “electors” • Estates of Brandenburg and Prussia. • Junkers: nobility and landowning classes help consolidate the Prussian state Frederick William “The Great Elector”

How did governments resist absolutism? • Constitutionalism: A form of government in which power is limited by law and balanced between the authority and power of the government. • England the Netherlands • Not the same as Democracy

The Golden Age of The Netherlands • The United Provinces • Republican rather than monarchical • Wealthy merchants and financiers • Confederation weak union of strong provinces • Intense pride in the ‘freedom’ won from Spain

Commercial Revolution: 17 th & 18 th Centuries • Political successes of the Dutch relied on commercial prosperity Mercantilism • Dutch East India Company • Cut into Portuguese trading in East Asia • Dutch had highest standard of living in Europe during 17 th century • Food surplus • Higher wages for workers • Low price of food fewer riots than other parts of Europe

Decline of royal absolutism in England • Elizabeth I (r. 1558 -1603): • Great power through political shrewdness & flexibility • James I (r. 1603 -1625): • Believed in the “divine right of kings” • Used revenues for “royal extravagance” weakened respect for the monarchy.

England Cont. … • Charles I (r. 1625 -1649) • Attempted to finance government without Parliament (16291640) crisis • Parliament enacted legislation that limited the power of the monarch. • English Civil War (1642 -1649) • Charles I vs. Parliament • Ended with the execution of Charles I for high treason. • Blow to “divine right” theory

Cromwell and the Protectorate • Oliver Cromwell controlled the army that took down Charles I. • Protectorate military dictatorship • State censorship of the press, sports, and theaters • Military dictatorship died with Cromwell in 1658.

Return to monarchy • Charles II (r. 1660 -1685) • Harmony with Parliament (temporary) • Secret agreement with Louis XIV • James II (r. 1685 -1688) • Catholic religious freedom for all • Violated the Test Act (1673): only Anglican Church members could vote, hold public office, etc. France

The Glorious Revolution (1688 -1689) • William of Orange (Dutch) and Mary (James II’s Protestant daughter) • Given the English throne by Parliament • End to “divine right” of the monarchy • English Bill of Rights • Hanoverian succession (1714): • Cabinet System: both legislative power and executive power are held by the leading ministers, who form the government

The Ottoman Empire • Islamic State Became safe haven for Jews, Muslims, and some Christians (tolerance) • Sultan: Owned all agriculture and was served by an army and bureaucracy of highly trained slaves • Late 16 th century struggles • Sultans were inexperienced & faced political revolts (Suleiman) • Military tech & training fell behind the west. • Lost Hungary & Transylvania to Austria (1699)

The Rise of Moscow • Mongol Empire conquered Slavic princes during 13 th century (Genghis Khan) • Princes of the Grand Duchy of Moscow goods, slaves, and money • “Ivan The Great” (r. 1462 -1505): Resisted payments to the Mongols • Autonomy of Moscow (1480) • Borrowed tactics used by the Mongols • Boyars: the highest ranking members of the Russia nobility

The tsars • “Ivan the Terrible” (r. 1533 -1584) • Executed members of leading Boyar families • All nobles had to serve in the tsars army to hold land service nobility • “Domestic oppression & external aggression” • Time of Troubles (1598 -1613) • Struggle for power after death of Ivan the Terrible • Cossack rebellions crushed by now united nobles • More restrictions on serfs • Put power in the Tsar (Romanov’s)

The Tsars, Cont. … • “Peter the Great” (r. 1682 -1725) • Wanted to increase military power & territory • Reforms: • All noblemen must serve in the army or civil administration for life • Built schools & universities with compulsory laws • Serfs worked in factories/mines that were state owned • Defeat of Sweden’s Charles XII in 1709 established Russia as a great European power.

Baroque Architecture • Baroque style spread throughout Europe (17 th Century) • Represented absolutist power • Palaces strength • Inspired by Louis XIV’s Versailles • St. Petersburg • Connection between politics, architecture, and urban development • Goal Secure the Baltic coast • Nobility required to build & live in costly homes